NAMING MAYA
by Uma Krishnaswami
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 0374354855
Ages 10-up
178 pages

Contrary to her wishes, Maya is spending part of her summer in Chennai, India while her mother is trying to sell her grandfather's old house. To make the summer more enjoyable, Maya keeps herself busy by taking pictures of surroundings and making friends with her cousin Sumati and Kamala Mami, a housekeeper and cook in Maya's extended family.

At the same time though, she starts thinking about a sea of painful memories that are incomprehensible to her. Her parents' divorce particularly troubles her. She still wishes to have a whole family again, and she thinks that their separation was her fault because of the name she was given. For years the tension has produced a number of varying emotions. It gets worse when Kamala Mami is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Maya can't deal with the stress any longer. Will the tension in her family ever stop? Will she ever have a whole family again?

NAMING MAYA provides some valuable insight into what life is like in India. Sadly, it also reminded me of how debilitating Alzheimer's disease can be to one's mind. When Maya finds out that Kamala Mami has the disease, I felt her pain since I had to go through the same thing with some of my family members. NAMING MAYA is a compelling novel that I will remember for a long time to come.

   --- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub

Back to top.